How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Enjoying Pokemon Go

This piece has previously been posted on Reddit in August with positive reception.

I’d like to share my opinion on how you can improve your personal enjoyment of the game.

This is compiled based on what I’ve read while browsing the new tab on the Pokemon Go subreddit along side my ideals when playing.

1. Being the very best is very difficult

There are players living on top of PokeStops, have spent hundreds in Pokecoins or simply live in a big city with ridiculous amounts of Pokemon. Without these advantages, it is going to be difficult to keep up with those at the top. To increase your enjoyment of the game, you need to reevaluate your goals.

You might ask “What else am I suppose to do?”. Here are some goals to consider:

Strive to complete the Pokedex

Be the very best within among your friends

Specialize in a certain type (Water, Fighting, Pidgey)

Have perfect Pokemon

Collect only Pokemon of a certain color.

Be a master breeder and raise up those Pokemon

And so on.

No one is claiming you can only play in one way and neither is anyone saying you must have an overarching goal. Most people I’ve encountered play with no overarching goal and that’s perfectly fine. You can just collect the Pokemon you like and only raising them up them up rather than follow any tier list.

Your goals should be something you can visualize.

2. Gyms only give Pokecoins (and dust)

If you are a low leveled trainer and don’t have the Pokemon with the chops to claim any gyms, don’t worry. Don’t let those suspiciously high level trainers discourage you!

Outside of claiming your defender rewards, there is no incentive to defend a gym. On the other hand for those who are able to stake a claim on a gym, defending multiple gyms at the same time is quite hard.

I recommend simply claiming your reward for the day when you’ve conquered one or two and move on. Gambling for control of more gyms is ineffective in both time and resources (Potions).

That time could be spent finding the stardust to max out your Pikachu you’ll never evolve.

3. IVs only matter to some

If you’re confused as to what IVs are then that’s okay. You can skip this section. IVs are unimportant in the current state of the game. The average difference between two Pokemon is minuscule and will not influence your Pokemon’s performance in gyms.

If the time comes that IVs will play a larger role in the game, then you can always adapt. Seriously don’t worry about it. The game becomes more fun once the burden of IVs is gone.

If you cannot shake the obsession of only possessing high IV Pokemon, you could relax your requirements. For example, if you require perfection of more than 85% then you could try and accept 75% as a minimum. If that isn’t a possibility then that’s okay as well. Striving to have perfect pokemon is an acceptable goal.

4. Only keep the Pokemon that spark joy

If you haven’t bought more Pokemon bag space, you might be constantly reaching the storage limit. I have a solution that might seem strange at first but it has definitely worked for me.

You are likely holding on to Pokemon who are more of a burden than serving a purpose. You could be holding on to a Onix waiting to see if Steelix is any better. Perhaps you’re holding on to a Jynx that hatched from rare 10 km egg and are waiting to see if it’ll be more useful than it is now. If these Pokemon don’t spark joy when you see it in your inventory then just transfer it.

Yes, I said just transfer it.

However if the idea of having a Steelix in the future is something you desire and this desire brings you joy then by all means keep it. When you scroll through all your Pokemon, they should bring you joy in one way or another. You can always find another one if you happen to want one in the future.

After following this rule, I’ve gotten rid of:

Duplicate Magikarps that I have no plans for

Low CP Snorlax that I caught

Random Pidgeottos, Raticates, Dodrios that I hoped to use to fight at gyms and transfer afterwards.

Metapods and Kakunas that had decent CP but had no plans for.

Extras of Pokemon I’ll probably never get enough candy to evolve.

You get the idea.

5. Know when to play and when not to play

Pokemon Go should be a game played for fun. If you are frustrated at the current state of the game, know that it’s okay to take a break. There’s little benefit to yourself if you are playing to not fall behind rather then enjoyment. Furthermore, define certain times to play. If you’re out with your friends and they aren’t playing at the moment then consider taking a break from the game and enjoy their company. Of course, if there is a Mewtwo, they’ll understand.

I believe Niantic will surely make improvements to the game and open up new ways to play. In the meanwhile we can all find our own way of playing this game we all enjoy. If you’ve made it this far, I hope you’ve considered some of my ideas and thanks for reading what I have to say.

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All images and names owned and trademarked by Nintendo, Niantic, The Pokémon Company, and Gamefreak are property of their respective owners.